PROVIDENCE – The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission is considering a proposal to set building permit fees at 1.4 percent of construction costs, inclusive of the required fire plan review fee, at a meeting Tuesday evening.
The rate is near the median of sampled markets and is in line with what the state is already charging, according to a letter posted on the 195district.com website from I-195 Redevelopment District Commission Executive Director Peter McNally recommending the proposal.
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McNally told PBN the commission is required by statute to create a set building permit fee. The fee will be collected by the commission, but the permit will be issued by a state building official.
The Wexford Science & Technology building, which has already begun construction, paid the state building fee in the absence of the set building permit fee.
As part of the plan, Providence would receive half of what it would otherwise charge or half of the fees collected, whichever is higher.
McNally said the city would receive the bulk of the proceeds outlined in the recommended plan.
The public portion of the meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the R.I. Commerce Corp.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
The commission should delve into questions why there is not more activity in the district compared to other cities experiencing booming construction projects. If the city has high housing costs and high property taxes along with a low residential vacancy rate, why isn’t the commission looking at ways to increase housing projects that directly address those issues. Rather than rejecting projects like the Fane building, they should question why a height limit of 100ft, roughly a ten story by building, was set for new construction in the district. What knowledge do they have that this is a profitable size for developers of office and residential properties???
Very well put. The process of approval of projects needs to allow for some rapidity, especially when developers wish to spend a quarter of a billion dollars in private capital to build in our city.